Whether they’re blamed on despair over the economy, depression or drug problems, suicides in the state are on the rise and spiked sharply in Bristol County and across much of the state.
Taunton has lost 22 residents to suicide in the last three years, according to the latest suicide data released from the state Department of Public Health. The suicide prevention group Samaritans reported that its crisis calls are also up significantly in the state.
“More than one person a day in the commonwealth died by their own hand,” said Roberta Hurtig, executive director of the Samaritans of Greater Boston. “The last few years have been tough economically, and we’re seeing men and women veterans with high increases in post-traumatic stress disorder.”
According to statistics
The most recent data from the Department of Public Health’s surveillance of violent deaths counted 531 suicides statewide in 2009, up from 503 the year before, and an overall rise in the rate from 7.7 to 8.1 suicides per 100,000 residents. That’s still far lower than the national suicide rate of 11.2.
The report said that suicides continued to increase into 2010 across Massachusetts but that precise data won’t be available until next year.
The number of suicides in Bristol County spiked from 53 in 2008 to 63 the following year, an increase of nearly 19 percent. Overall there were 11.2 suicides per 100,000 people in Bristol County in 2009.
Plymouth County jumped from 39 in 2008 to 49 in 2009, a 25 percent increase that also pushed its suicide rate to 9.6 per 100,000 residents, significantly higher than Norfolk County’s rate of 6.2 and Suffolk County’s rate of 6.4.
There were nine suicides in Taunton in 2009, up from eight the previous year. The number of suicides in Berkley, Norton, Rehoboth, Fall River and New Bedford also increased over that span.
Last year in the wake of a string of suicides on the South Shore, mental health professionals flagged an array of shortages in the region from psychiatric hospital beds and psychiatrists who accept a wide range of health insurance plans to the absence of a teaching hospital that would anchor a network of mental health care services and training.
“The South Shore does have some unique problems,” Dr. Donald Condie, a child psychiatrist and the president of the Massachusetts Psychiatric Society said last summer.
Taunton State Hospital
The closing of Taunton State Hospital later this year will make it harder for people in the region to get psychiatric care, according to many opponents of the planned closure.
Most of the suicides in the state — 51 percent — were committed by residents between the ages of 35 and 54, according to the report. Suicides among males were more than triple the rate for women. In 2009, there were 421 suicides among males, compared with 109 among females.
The public health report found that 55 percent of suicide victims had mental health problems, 29 percent had a history of substance or alcohol abuse and 22 percent had job or financial problems.
A study released last year by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that suicide rates for adults of working age rose during economic recessions.
— Staff Writer Gerry Tuoti contributed to this report.